Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Most Unique Books

What are the top ten unique books you've ever read? That's what the ladies at The Broke and The Bookish are asking us this week. I like to think that I'm a pretty eclectic reader but, let's face it, I really do tend to stick to my go-to genres. On the other hand, in all of the course of my reading years, through all of my reading phases, there have been a lot of books that really were unique for me at the time I read them.

1. City of Thieves by David Benioff (yes, Game of Thrones fans, that David Benioff) - Me? A story about survival during a siege? Not only did I read it, I loved it.

2. Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice - It was unique for me when I read it; it would be unique for me if I read it now. I'm just not a reader of monster books.

3. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami - Ti (Book Chatter) convinced me to go waayyy out of my comfort zone with this one and I'm so glad she did. Even if I'm still not sure what it meant.

4. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot - I never learned to love science when I was growing up. It's something I certainly never thought I'd enjoy reading about as an adult. Skloot showed me that science can be just as interesting to read about it is to listen to on Radio Lab.

5. Night Film by Marisha Pessl - On the Nook this was a truly interactive experience. Any way you read it, it was mind blowing.

6. Only Milo by Barry Smith - Unique story, unique typography, unique writing style. Dark comedy fun.

7. Animal Farm by George Orwell - Well, duh, it's animals and communism.

8. The Imposter's Daughter by Laurie Sandell - my first graphic novel.

9. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid - The entire book is an unnamed narrator having a conversation with the reader, who plays the role of an American stranger.

10.  Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders by Neil Gaiman - Filled with stories of magic and the unexplainable, this collection was so far out of my wheel house that it literally made me uncomfortable to read it.

What books would you put on a list of your unique reads?

Oleander Girl by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Oleander Girl by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Published March 2013 by Simon and Schuster
Source: my copy courtesy of the publisher in exchange for this fair review

Publisher's Summary:
Orphaned at birth, seventeen-year-old Korobi Roy is the scion of a distinguished Kolkata family and has enjoyed a privileged, sheltered childhood with her adoring grandparents. But she is troubled by the silence that surrounds her parents’ death and clings fiercely to her only inheritance from them: the love note she found hidden in her mother's book of poetry. Korobi dreams of one day finding a love as powerful as her parents’, and it seems her wish has come true when she meets the charming Rajat, the only son of a high-profile business family.

But shortly after their engagement, a heart attack kills Korobi’s grandfather, revealing serious financial problems and a devastating secret about Korobi's past. Shattered by this discovery and by her grandparents’ betrayal, Korobi undertakes a courageous search across post-9/11 America to find her true identity. Her dramatic, often startling journey will, ultimately, thrust her into the most difficult decision of her life.

My Thoughts:
In Divakaruni's One Amazing Thing, she took a cast of characters and built a story for each that was developed independently and told one by one. In Oleander Girl, Divakaruni has also taken a cast of characters and built a plot line  for each but here they are all interwoven into a cohesive story.

You know by now how much I love books set in India and in that respect this book definitely satisfies. Divakaruni explores class, caste, and religion while comparing modern India to its rich history and traditions. Against this backdrop, Korobi represents a prize for Rajat's family; as nouveau riche, they are in need of the power of tradition the Roy family holds. Korobi's journey to America is only one of the problems they will face trying to hold onto their wealth and power.

Divakaruni attempts to do a lot in Oleander Girl and, unfortunately, it didn't entirely succeed for me. She might have been better served to split up her story lines; it would have allowed her to better develop Korobi's journey in search of her father. I was far more interested in learning what would happen in Kolkata to Rajat, his family, and the people around them. Divakaruni touches only so deeply into the darker aspects of the story and I would have liked to see that developed further. Still, I enjoyed the book and raced through it.

Life: It Goes On - April 6

Greetings from Omaha, where spring is still fighting to make an  appearance. Snow on Tuesday, temperatures in the sixties this weekend. I have spent the past week not caring much one way or the other; it's been all I could do to go to work each day. Finally this weekend I have regained some energy and have been catching up on sleep.

I hadn't been to walk in two weeks until today. Couldn't do what I've worked up to but it's a start and I think will help my lungs finally heal up. With nice weather in the forecast this week, I think I'll try to get out and get some walking in every day.

Here's What I'm:

Listening To: I finished Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm  on Friday and will start my first Anthony Trollope, The Warden tomorrow. It's entirely possible the review for Rebecca will be in graph form.

Watching: Free HBO this weekend means that I've done most of the housework while I've also watched all three seasons of GAME OF THRONES. Dang, people, I can see why so many of you love the books and the series. My April reading plan may have just gone up in smoke; I'm seriously considering starting the series.

Reading: I finished Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's (One Amazing Thing) Oleander Girl; I'll have a review this week. The Omaha Bookworms will meet to discuss the second half of The Goldfinch next week so I'm back to reading that and enjoying it.

Making: Yesterday I made something I'm calling cheeseburger cups which were a huge hit. Now I just have to try to remember the proportions I used! I also cooked a crockpot of chicken breasts for this week, a batch of peach steel cut oats for breakfast this morning and three loaves of banana bread today.

Planning: My goal this week is just to try to catch up and continue to finish up some small projects I did have the energy to start last week including a major reorganization of paperwork inspired by 40 Bags In 40 Days.

Grateful for: Modern medicine and The Big Guy who has taken very good care of me the past couple of weeks.

Loving: Signs of spring, including the tulip plant BG brought home the other day to brighten my day.

Feeling: Antsy. I'm ready to be back to full energy!

Thinking: Of unplugging for a week, although I'm not clear in my mind yet exactly what that will entail. I know myself better than to think that I could go a whole week without ANY internet communication.

Looking forward to: Time with friends this week and time with my mom and sister-in-law on Saturday - lots of girl time!

Lit: Uniquely Portable Magic - Looking Forward To...

It's a bad thing to put more books on your wish list than you finish in a week. Yet, here I am adding three more books to my wish list. This week I'm adding:

1. Under Magnolia by Frances Mayes -
The author of three beloved books about her life in Italy, including UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN and EVERY DAY IN TUSCANY, Frances Mayes revisits the turning points that defined her early years in Fitzgerald, Georgia. With her signature style and grace, Mayes explores the power of landscape, the idea of home, and the lasting force of a chaotic and loving family.

2. That Night by Chevy Stevens - Toni Murphy is finally leaving prison after fifteen years. Jailed for a crime she didn't commit, the murder of her sister, she just wants to get on with her life. But her ex-boyfriend Ryan, who was also set up for the murder, is determined to clear their name and get revenge on those who wronged them.

3. In Paradise by Peter Mattiessen -
In the winter of 1996, more than a hundred individuals gather at the site of a former concentration camp for a weeklong retreat during which they will offer prayer and witness at the crematoria and meditate in all weathers on the selection platform, while eating and sleeping in the quarters of the Nazi officers who sent more than a million Jews to their deaths. Clements Olin, an American academic of Polish descent, is forced to abandon his observer’s role and embrace a history his family has long suppressed.

I'm adding a couple to my dad's wish list as well this week (he's an avid reader of Civil War books): The Smoke At Dawn by Jeff Shaara and Clouds of Glory: The Life and Legend of Robert E. Lee by Michael Korda.

And for all of you Outlander fans who aren't bloggers and already know when the next book in the series is coming out, mark your calendars for June 10 for the arrival of Written In My Own Heart's Blood.

Have you added any new books to your wish list this week?

Paganini's Ghost by Paul Adam

Paganini's Ghost by Paul Adam
Published 2010 by Minotaur Books
Source: my copy courtesy of my parents

Publisher's Summary:
Paganini – showman, womanizer, dazzling virtuoso – is one of the most charismatic characters in the history of classical music. His violin, il Cannone (the Cannon), is now kept in Genoa, Italy, where it is played only once every two years in a sold-out concert by the winner of an international competition.

This year, though, a Parisian art dealer is found dead in his hotel room the day after the concert. In his wallet is a scrap of sheet music, torn from a page that belongs to the competition’s winner. But how did the dead man get hold of it? And why?

Detective Antonio Guastafeste asks violin maker Gianni Castiglione to help him navigate the curious world of classical musicians, their priceless instruments, and the unsavory dealers who prey upon them. Together, Antonio and Gianni must unravel another mystery that has gone unanswered for over a century, one that may hold the answer to the modern-day murder.

My Thoughts: 
This book was first recommended to me by my aunt and uncle in Rhode Island (I passed it along to you in May of 2010).  I can see why they enjoyed it as it is set almost entirely in Italy. My aunt is of Italian descent and my uncle spent time in Italy when he was in the service. Add to that the fact that Adam doesn't just have his characters eat a meal, he makes you want to join them, even if it's just cheese and crackers (because, of course, it's Italian cheese, you know it's delicious!). And if all of that weren't enough, Paganini's Ghost is choke full of classical music references; in fact, that world is the key to solving a murder mystery. Which, I'm sure, is one of the reasons my parents enjoyed the book.

It was also one of the reasons I liked this book. I wonder if it might not be too much for some readers, although I suppose it's not much different than any other back story essential for a book's development. And in all of that classical music background are many of the clues readers have the opportunity to pick up on if they're reading carefully (evidently I wasn't reading carefully enough, I needed Antonio and Gianni to point them out for me).

Adam pulls his story in and out of history, in and out of Italy, as he draws you into his characters' lives and builds on the mysteries behind the murders. I enjoyed it so much I'm planning on reading the first book in the series, The Rainaldi Quartet, soon (which I have, don't ask me why I read them out of order).

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten "Gateway" Books/Authors In My Reading Journey

This week for Top Ten Tuesday, the ladies at The Broke and the Bookish are asking us to list those books and/or authors who introduced us to a genre, who got us into reading or who brought us back to reading. I thought it would be hard to find books to fit this category. Instead, it was hard to narrow down my choices.

1. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott was not only my gateway to chapter books I read by myself, it was also my gateway book falling in love with characters.

2. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain was my gateway book to the ways in which a book can blend humor and heavier subjects wonderfully.

3. Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes was my first introduction to mental disability in a novel.

4. A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle was my gateway into science fiction, introduced to me by a fifth-grade teacher who read it to our class.

5. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende introduced me to magical realism. It doesn't always work for me, but, thanks to Allende, I know it can and I keep giving it a shot.

6. The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry was my gateway to the power of short stories

7. Stephen King was my gateway to epic chunksters. Oh sure, I'd read big books before but nothing on the epic scale of King's books.

8. Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss was my gateway into the interactive quality of books, especially children's books - act them out, people!

9. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner introduced me to the idea that really complex, really difficult books are well worth the time they take...also to great Southern literature.

10. Ragtime by E. L. Doctorow was my introduction to books that combine real people and real events with fiction. It's a combination I adore now!

What are some of your "gateway" books or authors?

Mama Shepp's Family Recommends: The Taliban Cricket Club

Back in December, The Rhodys (that is to say my aunt and uncle who live in Rhode Island) recommended Timeri Murari's The Taliban Cricket Club. Sadly, that recommendation got lost in my email. Thank goodness for Bloggiesta for allowing me to find this recommendation again.

The Rhodys call The Taliban Cricket Club "a very simple and very endearing adventure story with nice thrills and tension and lovely human interest insights." It is, they say, a "relaxing satisfying beach read" with an "Afghani feminist-type heroine." You know how much I love a book set in Afghanistan!
And guess what? I have this book! Which probably means that my mom took their recommendation to heart when she got it and then passed the book along to me.

Here's what the publisher has to say about The Taliban Cricket Club:

Rukhsana is a spirited young journalist who works for the Kabul Daily in Afghanistan. She takes care of her ill, widowed mother and her younger brother, Jahan. But then Rukhsana is summoned to appear at the infamous Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, and their quiet and tenuous way of life is shattered.

There, the malevolent minister, Zorak Wahidi, announces that the Taliban has found a new way to pursue the diplomatic respect it has long been denied: cricket. On the world stage of sports, the Taliban will prove they are a fair and just society. Rukhsana and several other journalists are to report that a tournament will be held to determine who will play for Afghanistan. Anyone can put together a team. Women are forbidden to play. The winners will travel to Pakistan to train, then go on to represent Afghanistan around the world.

Rukhsana knows that this is a shameful, and deeply surreal, idea. The Taliban will never embrace a game rooted in civility, fairness, and equality, with no tolerance for violence or cheating. And no one in Afghanistan even knows how to play the game.

Except for Rukhsana.

This could be a way to get her cousins and her brother out of Afghanistan for good. But before she can organize a team, the terrifying Wahidi demands her hand in marriage. He finds her both exciting and infuriating, and wants to control her unruly, willful nature. The union would be her prison, stripping away what few freedoms she has left under Taliban rule and forcing her away from her family. Not marrying Wahidi, however, might mean her death. Her family rallies around her, willing to do anything to protect her, even if it means imprisonment or worse.

But Rukhsana realizes that Wahidi may have given her a way out, too. With the help of her loyal, beloved brother and cousins, she forms her own cricket team and sets about teaching them how to win their freedom—with a bat and a ball.

Inspired by the Taliban's actual and unprecedented promotion of cricket in 2000 in an attempt to gain acceptance in the global community, internationally bestselling author Murari weaves a riveting story of strength, hope, and soaring human triumph that proves no tyranny is ever absolute in the face of love.

Have you read this one?